Manufacture of pile fabrics



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y torn- United States Patent 01 fice 3,531,343 MANUFACTURE OF PILE FABRICS Pierre Couquet, Domaine-de-Mazerettes, pres Mirepoix,

France, assignor to Debron Carpets Limited, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England Filed May 22, 1968', Ser. No. 745,646 Claims priority, application Great Britain, May 23, 1967,

(Filed under Rule 47(b) and 35 U.S.C. 118) Int. Cl. D05c /00 US. Cl. 156-72 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a process for the production of a pile fabric by implanting a series of rows of upright tufts into a layer of hardenable material in which the adjacent previously implanted row of tufts is pulled aside during implanting of a new row of tufts so as to allow the rows of tufts to be implanted relatively closely without disturbing the already implanted rows.

This invention relates to the manufacture of pile fabrics, such as for example carpets and velvets. In particular it is concerned with the manufacture of such pile fabrics by implanting the ends of a series of rows of tufts in a layer of hardenable adhesive material which is in a liquid or semi-liquid state and then subsequently setting or hardening this layer.

In our United Kingdom Pat. No. 1,077,070 is disclosed the manufacture of a pile fabric by the implantation in a layer of hardenable adhesive material of rows of pile forming tufts or the ends of a sheet of threads which are then severed to leave pile forming tufts implanted in the adhesive material and the adhesive material is then set to give the pile fabric. According to that invention a member is used which covers the tops of the already implanted tufts at least during the implantation step of the further row of tufts or the ends of the said sheet of threads so as to prevent disturbance of the previously implanted row of tufts.

Preferably in that method the said member also contacts the tips of the implanted tufts and, if they are too high, presses the tufts further into the layer of adhesive material. In this way it is possible to ensure that the pile height is kept substantially constant.

In the above method the tufts or the ends of the sheet of threads are implanted in the adhesive material by a clamping device which consists of a pair of clamps which grip the tufts or threads between them leaving the ends free for implanting in the adhesive material and, with the tufts or threads so gripped, the clamp is then moved towards the adhesive layer so as to implant the ends of the tufts or threads. In that method therefore the density of the pile, that is the spacing between adjacent rows of tufts, is limited by the fact that the implanting clamp must not disturb the previously implanted row of tufts.

We have now found that, in the manufacture of a pile fabric by the implantation in a layer of adhesive material of rows of pile forming tufts or the ends of a sheet of threads or their equivalent which are then severed to leave pile forming tufts implanted in the adhesive material and the adhesive material then being set to give the pile fabric, the density of the pile can be increased by using a member which covers the tops of the already implanted tufts at least during the implantation step of the further row of tufts or the ends of the said sheet of threads or their equivalent and which can be used to pull the tops of the previous rows of tufts aside so as to give more room for the implanting clamp. We have found in this way that it is possible to allow the implant- 3,531,343 Patented Sept. 29, 1970 ing clamp to come much closer to the previously implanted row of tufts substantially without risk of disturbing that row. Once a row of tufts has been implanted the member can then release the previous row which has been pulled to one side whereupon the resilience of the tufts and adhesive material causes these tufts to return to their substantially upright position.

Although we have described the tufts being severed from a sheet of threads, the use of threads is not essential. The sheet can be formed of filaments of non-twisted or non-spun material such as a tow or sliver and therefore the term sheet of threads or equivalent is to be construed accordingly.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which FIGS. 1 to 9 illustrate the steps of implanting one row of tufts in the manufacture of a pile fabric according to the invention, and FIGS. 10 and 11 are enlarged sections showing a comparison between the invention and the method disclosed in our above-mentioned patent.

The apparatus shown in the drawings is very similar to the one shown in our Pat. No. 1,077,070 and the operation of the pile implanting mechanism is substantially the same. Reference is therefore made to that patent for an illustration of the apparatus.

Briefly a layer 10 of polyvinyl chloride paste is carried on a temporary support 12 and rows of tufts 14 are implanted in this layer (FIG. 7) by a pair of planting clamps 16. These tufts are formed from a sheet of threads 18 which is moved step-Wise downwardly by upper and lower clamps 20 and 22, respectively, which press the threads against a stationary backing plate 24 (FIGS. 2 to 4). The tufts 14 are formed by cutting off the lower ends of these threads by a band saw 26 when the threads are held gripped by both the clamps 16 and the lower clamp 22 (FIG. 5). After one row of tufts 14 has been implanted and before the next row is implanted, the layer 10 is advanced step-wise in the direction of the arrow 28 (FIG. 5) so as to space the rows from one another.

The amount by which the layer 10 is advanced between implanting steps determines the density of the pile which is formed. In the method described in our abovementioned patent, this density is limited by the fact that when implanting one row, the previous row must not be disturbed. This is illustrated in FIG. 11. There the spacing between adjacent rows is f and it is not possible to make this spacing any less without risk of the planting clamp contacting a previously implanted row of tufts 14a and disturbing them, or contacting a member 30 which covers the tufts and protects them.

In accordance with the invention, however, one can achieve -a much closer spacing of the pile by using the member 30 to pull the already implanted rows of tufts to one side during the implanting of a new row of tufts. This is illustrated in detail in FIG. 10. As can be seen the member 30 pulls the free ends of the implanted tufts aside and this allows one to reduce the spacing between adjacent rows of tufts to d which is substantially less than the spacing 1 shown in FIG. 11. Even though the tufts are now more closely spaced the planting clamp does not disturb the already implanted rows or contact the member 30.

After a new row of tufts 14 has been implanted (FIGS. 1 and 2) the member 30 is raised clear of the tufts and releases the tufts which were pulled aside (FIG. 3). The resiliency of the tufts and of the layer 10 causes them to return to their upright position. In fact it is found that the tufts can be pulled aside to a substantial angle and they will still return to their upright position when released.

The layer 10 is then advanced (FIG. 5) and the member 30 can again be lowered to cover the latest row of tufts (FIG. 6). The member 30 also serves to keep the height of the pile substantially uniform since as it is lowered it contacts the tops of the tufts and presses the new row of tufts into the layer as far as the previous rows. This occurs in the way described in our above-mentioned patent.

The member 30 then moves to the right as shown in FIG. 7 so allowing the planting clamps 16 to implant a new row of tufts 14. The member holds the tufts clear of the clamps 16 while they open to release the new row of tufts (FIG. 8) and move upwardly clear of the tufts (FIG. 9).

The cycle repeats itself and so a length of the pile fabric is formed.

In practice it has been found that by following the invention one can readily make a pile fabric in which the rows of tufts are implanted as close as 5 rows per 2 centimetres. This can be achieved by the member 30 moving the already implanted threads aside to a position in which it is about /2 millimetre from the right-hand (as shown in FIG. 10) planting clamp 16 (i.e. the distance 0 shown in FIG. 10). It is found that with as small a gap between the two as this, there is substantially no risk of already implanted tufts being disturbed during the implantation of further tufts.

The member 30 can, for example, push the implanted threads about 1 millimetre into the layer 10 after they have been implanted a few tenths of a millimetre deep into the layer by the planting clamps 16.

The advantages of the member 30 are that it prevents the disturbance of already implanted rows, it keeps the height of the pile material uniform, it keeps the rows of tufts straight, and also it allows one to make a pile material which is denser, ie more rows of tufts per unit length, than before.

It will be appreciated that the layer 10, which is preferably a polyvinyl chloride paste, can be provided on the temporary support in any suitable manner, e.g. by a doctor knife, and that the layer 10 can be hardened after the tufts have been implanted in it in any convenient way. In the case of polyvinyl chloride paste this can be readily achieved by heating the layer. Thereafter the finished pile material can be stripped from the temporary support 12.

I claim:

1. In the production of a pile fabric by successively implanting the ends of rows of upright tufts into a layer of hardenable material and then hardening said layer to secure said tufts, the step of temporarily displacing the tufts of the adjacent previously implanted row of tufts from their upright positions during the implantation of a further row of tufts, by moving the free ends of said adjacent previously implanted row of tufts aside in the direction away from said further .row of tufts during implantation of said further row of tufts and releasing said free ends of said adjacent previously implanted row of tufts after implantation of said further row of tufts thereby allowing said tufts of said adjacent previously implanted row of tufts to regain their upright position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,358,368 9/1944 Victor 15672 LELAND A. SEBASTIAN, Primary Examiner S. HELLMAN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. l56435 

